Monday, July 20, 2015

Mexican soccer fans, who felt their team got robbed by a controversial Dutch penalty kick in the 2014 World Cup, now know what it feels like to be on the other side.

On Sunday, Mexico advanced to the Gold Cup semifinals with a 1-0 win over Costa Rica after an extremely questionable call in the 124th minute. Mexican forward Oribe Peralta went up for a cross and the referee ruled he was fouled by Costa Rican player Roy Miller. Replays indicate it was a bad call, and within minutes of the call, "NoEraPenal'' (it was not a penalty) was trending on Twitter.

US midfielder Alejandro Bedoya didn't hide his feelings about the call. He tweeted: "Unbelievable. Disgraceful. All you can do is laugh. What. A. Joke.''

Friday, July 17, 2015

Thursday, July 16, 2015

The Gold Cup may as well be re-named the Caribbean Cup. Half of the eight quarterfinalists are from the Caribbean -- Jamaica, Cuba, Haiti and Trinidad and Tobago.

Typically-stronger Central American teams Honduras and El Salvador were eliminated, as were Guatemala and Canada.

Trinidad and Tobago was a surprise group winner over Mexico after rallying from down 0-2 in the 55th minute to tying the Mexicans 4-4 to advance as group leader. The Soca Warriors scored three goals between the 55th and 67th minutes, and then an equalizer in stoppage time.

Thursday, May 07, 2015

A new incarnation of the Miami Fusion was announced on Thursday, but this team is not in Major League Soccer and will not play in Fort Lauderdale. The new team, to be based at Ted Hendricks Stadium in Hialeah, is in the National Premier Soccer League, a fourth-tier developmental league that has 78 clubs nationwide.

The Miami team is owned by Venanzio Cipollitti, president of the Inteligensa Group, a credit card-chip company. It will be coached by Ferdinando (Ferdi) De Matthaeis, who played for New York Cosmos in the early 1980s and most recently coached at the IMG Academy in Bradenton.

The roster includes players from 11 nationalities who came from local colleges, the Miami United NPSL team, and other minor league teams. Two of the more experienced players are Colombian forward Carlos Salazar, who played for the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, and 36-year-old forward Emiliano Bonazzoli, who played for Sampdoria in the Italian Serie A.

"There are only so many MLS and NASL teams, and there is a lot of talent out there, so we hope to find talent that hasn't been discovered,'' said De Matthaeis.

The Fusion season opens Sunday at 6 p.m. against Miami United at Flamingo Park, and runs through July 10.

Monday, November 10, 2014

Jurgen Klinsmann announced his roster for upcoming friendlies against Colombia and Ireland. The match will be extra-special for Colombian-American Alejandro Bedoya of Weston, whose father and grandfather played professionally in Colombia.

Here are the details from US Soccer...

CHICAGO (Nov. 10, 2014) - U.S. Men's National Team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann has called 25 players into camp for the final matches of the 2014 campaign. The U.S. will first meet No. 3-ranked Colombia on Friday, Nov. 14, in London. More than 20,000 tickets have been sold for the USA's first match at Craven Cottage, the home of Fulham FC (TICKETS). Kickoff is set for 2:45 p.m. ET, and the match will be broadcast live on ESPN and UniMas.

Four days later, the United States will play on the Republic of Ireland's soil for the first since 2002 when it faces the home side at Aviva Stadium in Dublin. ESPN2 and Univision begin coverage at 2:45 p.m. ET. Fans can follow both matches on Twitter @ussoccer.

"We want to finish 2014 on a high note and continue to try to meet the top teams eye to eye," said Klinsmann. "In these last two games we want our veterans to really become mentors both on and off the field, and we want to see our youngsters take advantage of the opportunity to make their case and grow from the experience. These performances will set the tone for 2015."

Klinsmann has once again chosen to blend youth and experience. A total of 16 players were part the squad that reached the Round of 16 in the 2014 FIFA World Cup, led by four-time tournament veteran DaMarcus Beasley. At the other end of the spectrum, there are 12 players with 10 caps or less and an equal number that is 24 years old or younger.

U.S. MNT ROSTER NOTES

DaMarcus Beasley is the leading capwinner on the roster with 120 appearances. Jozy Altidore is second with 74 caps.

Altidore has worn the captain's armband twice in the past three matches, beginning with the 1-0 win on Sept. 3 against the Czech Republic.

Colombian-American midfielder Alejandro Bedoya has played in 10 of 13 matches for the MNT in 2014 and is on pace to tie a career best for most in a single year (12). Both his father and grandfather played professionally in Colombia.

World Cup goalkeepers Brad Guzan and Nick Rimando are headed to London, each sporting impressive records in a National Team uniform. Guzan has recorded nine shutouts in 19 career starts, with six of those clean sheets earned in World Cup qualifiers. Rimando has never lost a game for the National Team, posting a near-perfect 10-0-2 record.

Jermaine Jones, who scored a mesmerizing goal against Portugal in the World Cup in June, is again listed as a defender after having made a debut appearance at center back for the MNT in the 1-1 draw on Oct. 14 against Honduras.

Ingolstadt midfielder Alfredo Morales has helped his side to the top of the 2. Bundesliga table, appearing in all 13 matches and scoring the opening goal of the campaign. Born in Germany to Peruvian parents, Morales has been deployed as a holding midfielder and also in defense by his club.

Greg Garza earned his first start against Ecuador in his third consecutive appearance for the MNT, having made his debut in the 1-0 win against Czech Republic. The Club Tijuana left back has now competed for the United States at every age level, beginning with the U.S. Under-14 Boys' National Team.

Mix Diskerud has reached double-digit starts for the National Team. After scoring his fourth-career goal against Ecuador, the U.S. team holds a remarkable 17-1-5 record when Diskerud steps on the field.

A total of eight players join from MLS squads: Beasley, Kyle Beckerman, Matt Besler, Bill Hamid, Sean Johnson, Jones, Lee Nguyen, Rimando, Chris Wondolowski and DeAndre Yedlin. New England Revolution teammates Jones and Nguyen advanced to the Eastern Conference Championship for the first time since 2007, and Yedlin's Seattle Sounders FC faces FC Dallas in the second leg of its series Monday night with the hope of advancing to the Western Conference Championship.

Nguyen can earn his first cap for the U.S. MNT since 2007, when he made three international appearances. After entering as a substitute for Beasley in the 80th minute of the 4-1 win against China PR on June 2 in San Jose, he played two matches at Copa America in Venezuela. Nguyen (pronounced WIN) has 18 goals and five assists this season, making him a contender for the 2014 MLS MVP award.

Yedlin signed a contract to join north-London club Tottenham Hotspur, and could join the club as early as January.

Wondolowski spent the past week training at Fulham in advance of this camp.

Johnson earned both the MVP award and the Defender of the Year award for the Chicago Fire this season. He is coming off a training spell at Hull City.

Hamid backstopped D.C. United to a historic turnaround as the club was the first in the Eastern Conference to clinch an MLS playoff berth this season. A year ago, United finished the campaign with the worst record in MLS.

Minnesota United FC forward Miguel Ibarra and Stanford University striker Jordan Morris both return to the fold after debut appearances on an MNT roster this year. Ibarra became the first player from the modern NASL to be called into the National Team. The 24-year-old NASL Player of the Month for September got his first cap when entered as a 90th-minute sub in the 1-1 draw against Honduras.

Morris, who scored the game-winner for the U.S. U-23 MNT against the Bahamas in August, was named the 2012-13 Development Academy Player of the Year for the U-18 age group while playing for the Seattle Sounders FC Academy. He is the first active college player to be included on a roster under Jurgen Klinsmann.

Rubio Rubin also returns to the fold. He signed with Utrecht in July. The U.S. U-17 Residency alum was voted the 2012 U.S. Soccer Youth Male Athlete of the Year.

It's a gorgeous sunny day in Salvador...2 hours before USA v BEL kickoff...wonderful, serene scene outside this stadium, where there is a lakeside park filled with friendly, tame American and Belgian fans. Not as noisy as Colombia-Uruguay crowd, but they're having fun! This will give you an idea...

Thursday, June 26, 2014

Here's what Weston's Alejandro Bedoya had to say after US 1-0 loss to Germany...

On his second-half collision with Jermaine Jones:

AB: “It was just a weird collision. I had the ball and knew what I wanted to do next, but I didn’t really see him actually and we just collided. I guess it looks pretty bad on TV. I’m doing alright. I guess my head hit his nose so I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s broke.”

On having the crowd salute the players after the game:

AB: “The fans were great support down here in Brazil. Some of these games we feel like we played back in the States. The American Outlaws and then seeing the red, white and blue in the stands was awesome. You got to applaud them for coming all the way to Brazil, supporting us. [The game against Germany was] a loss, but I think last game felt like more of a loss than this one but obviously we accomplished the goal that we wanted to do – that was get out of the group and now we’re looking forward.

On the USA becoming the second favorite team of other country’s fans:

AB: “That’s awesome, the more support, the better it helps us get motivated for the games. That’s great to hear. We’re here, we all helped each other and we all know we have 23 players that can get the job done.”

On the weather conditions for the match in Recife:

AB: “I don’t think the conditions had that great of an impact. Both teams had to deal with it. If anything the rain helps you move the ball a little bit quicker and that what we want to do well in terms of moving the ball at a high tempo. Those are things we have to work on. Germany is a great team with great players, but we advanced; that’s the most important thing.”

On Belgium likely being the USA’s next opponent:

AB: “I can’t really give you anything on that because we haven’t had the chance to sit down and take a look at them. I’m sure we’ll sit down in the next couple days, look at their video and attack them. We need to be better moving the ball and possessing it, playing at a higher tempo. Belgium is a great team as well with great young players so, we have to be careful there as well.”